Brooks Glycerin 16 vs 15 Running Shoe Comparison Review

Josh reviews the newest addition to the Brooks Glycerin family, the Brooks Glycerin 16 running shoes and provides insight into the differences and similarities when weighed up against its predecessor, the Glycerin 15.   

The Glycerin 16 rides like a dream for a supinated (high arched) foot type, but accommodates orthotics easily to also cater to a pronated foot type. 

Various width options, a snug upper fit and heel counter, DNA Loft cushioning for pillowy-soft impacts and flex grooves for smooth motion set it apart from the pack. 

Check out the full review with transcript below. 

Hey guys, Josh here from Sportitude. Today we’re going to be talking about a new shoe, the Brooks Glycerin 16. It just landed in the middle of the year 2018. 

There’s a fair bit to talk about with this shoe, a little bit of a tweak in the midsole, a fair bit of tweak in the upper and a lot to like about it.

We’ll talk about comparisons between where it was with the Glycerin 15 from last season. From there we'll give you in depth detail on whether it’s going to be the right shoe for you and help you improve your running going forward.

Foot Type

First things first, when we’re talking about the Glycerin 16 we need to talk about what foot type sits inside this shoe. What we’re looking at in store from a fitting perspective is a foot type that has a slightly higher arch or borderline supinates. 

When I say supinates I’m talking about a foot type that has a visible higher arch or the foot type that bunches in the arch and supinates as it goes through its gait cycle. Heel comes down and on midstance phase we’re not collapsing that arch, we’re quite pitched as we transition to that toe-off phase. 

More often than not we find supinators don’t usually toe-off their first met head, they usually toe-off second and third. It’s important if you are a supinated/neutral foot type we don’t put you into a shoe with a lot of arch support. It’ll chock you out too far to the lateral side if we’re talking about no device coming into play.

If you’re a pronated foot type where your foot does roll in and you have an orthotic to cater for that then you can put your orthotic in the Glycerin 16 with plenty of success.

Widths

I want to touch on the widths of this shoe as well before we get cracking into what’s happening. In the ladies’ we’ve got your traditional 2A which is a narrow fit, B and a D width. 

In the men’s however we’ve only got two widths. We’ve got a D which is standard and the 2E as well. 

A couple of years ago they were playing around the B width from the men’s and globally didn’t get the numbers, so they didn’t continue with the B width in this specific shoe for the men’s. 

Outsole

First things first, I’m going to talk about the outsole configuration. The Glycerin 16 and when you’re talking about its comparative shoes like your Nimbus, Wave Sky from Mizuno and your 1080 from New Balance, this little guy has a more flexible toe-off region.

The reason being is you have seven flex grooves after that breaking phase at midstance cycle. As you can see when I bend the shoe, the flex grooves give the shoe more flexibility on toe-off. 

However, with these horizontal flex grooves they’ve still encapsulated the rubber just before that first metatarsal region. When and if you do slightly pronate off that big toe on toe-off cycle you’ll get a little bit of extra support just by purely encasing the outsole through flex grooves number two and three. It gives more rigidity on toe-off phase. 

You get a very flexible toe-off region from the Glycerin 16. As well as the extra flex grooves, the toe ever so slightly curves up. When we’re going from heel to mid and then from mid to toe-off, the shoe rolls easily off that forefoot. 

There are a lot of neutral running shoes in the market that take a little bit of loving care to take you into that toe-off phase. This little fella just rolls a lot easier in that toe-off cycle. 

What I want to do is now is just talk about the differences in the outsole from the 15 to the 16. Here’s the ladies’ version of the Glycerin 15 from last year and the Glycerin 16. It took me a good 30 - 45 seconds to have a look and see if there were any differences in the outsole. 

To be honest with you, there’s not much at all. There’s a little tweak in the outsole on this heel region, and when I say tweak it’s literally these little slits, that’s the only thing they’ve changed. 

In the forefoot we’ve got the same amount of flex grooves, same encapsulated toe piece from 15 to 16, so it’s giving the same amount of slight rigidity on the toe-off phase. In terms of the compound rubber they’re using, it’s the same. 

The outsole is 99.9% the same as last year. 

Midsole

Midsole time. We’re talking a stack height of 10mm, 32mm heel and 22mm forefoot. That’s both men’s and women’s. 

Some brands do like to tweak their engineering in relation to how much stack heights they have per gender, however Brooks in the Glycerin 16 have kept the stack heights the same, with a 10mm offset. 

We’ve got a new cushioning system called DNA Loft from Brooks. Initially I can’t tell you the actual component breakdowns to what is different from Super DNA to the DNA Loft. However, from the first couple of runs the DNA Loft is plusher underneath the foot. 

When your foot hits the ground you get a little more cushioning. However, how they’ve engineered this forefoot you get a very responsive feel on that toe-off phase. 

You want that cushioning in the region on the first point of impact, whether that be heel strike or slightly midstance. You have a nice soft cradle cushioning system but as we come through that toe-off phase you don’t want to be sinking through this region. 

Brooks have ever so slightly just shaved the gradient down to give you a nice responsive toe-off. I like the feel of this shoe underneath the foot. The consistency from contact point to toe-off is very smooth. 

I’ve taken my 16 for a couple of runs now. I’ve taken them for a few different variance runs, I’ve gone for some longer, slower runs and varied tempo style runs where I’m kicking up the speed a little bit. 

For me I’m not breaking any records, I just like to see what it feels like underneath when I put a bit more force through the foot. I like it for both shorter and longer distance runs. 

In the past I haven’t really enjoyed Glycerin 15 for shorter tempo runs purely because I found the upper a little bit loose, but in terms of the cushioning system underneath the foot I really like it.  

Glycerin 16,  tick for the midsole, love it. 

They’ve put concave designs on the lateral side and convex designs on the medial side of the shoe. New Balance did this a couple of years ago with their Fresh Foam series where it was really noticeable. In the Glycerin 16 it’s not overly noticeable.

On the lateral side there’s concave dimples, and then as you come around to the medial side you’ve got convex dimples as well. Convex when it compresses, it doesn’t compress the whole way. When you take out some components to make it concave and compress the lateral side it gives more cushioning. 

It’s a little tweak in their midsole but I think it’s a good tweak and it feels quite nice underneath the foot. 

Upper

Let’s talk about the upper of this shoe. I’m going to start from the toe box and work my way through to the midstance phase and then we’ll talk about the heel counter. 

The toe box is a little bit shallower, I love it. With the previous version 15 I personally found it to be a little bit boxy through the forefoot. 

It was OK initially but when you get to the last third of the life of the shoe I found it too voluminous for me. It had a little bit too much play, too much toe room and I want my foot to be nice and secure. 

I still love the 15 but the 16 through that forefoot region are a bit shallower and give you a snugger fit. 

Coming back to this midstance phase in the upper. They have a welded construction. You can see the medial strap as it comes over the shoe, and then as you swing around to the lateral side it goes down to the midsole. That’s giving the shoe extra strength through that midstance phase. 

It’s important to keep your foot nice and stable at midstance before you can go through toe-off. That’s what the welded strap does. 

The other feature I’ve always loved about the Glycerin is their collar. Again, they haven’t sacrificed any padding, it’s nice and plush. It’s very comfortable when you put your foot into this shoe. Your calcaneus sits nice and deep and you get a lovely wrap around the back of your heel. 

It’s one of the more comfortable shoes in the market in relation to their heel counter configuration. It’s not the deepest shoe by any means, however it gives a nice, snug fit around the back. 

Lastly you have a nice little eyelet which all Brooks come with. For that matter a lot of running shoe companies will make that extra eyelet at the back just in case you need more security when you’re lacing up your shoes to give you a bit more hold. 

Other upper features include the nice open breathable mesh through that forefoot. You're still getting plenty of air flow through your foot, keeping you cool and reducing the amount of swelling that you get on those longer runs. 

The other thing I like is that it’s ever so slightly a tighter woven top layer. That will give the shoe a little more structure and integrity. 

We find that in some brands when you go for a lighter, breathable upper you do sacrifice light support. Potentially we’ve had in the past where shoes could wear little holes in the forefoot, no one wants that. 

I’d be extremely surprised if this happens with the Glycerin 16, if there’s any unusual wear around that big toe. 

There we have it guys, Brooks Glycerin 16. If you have any questions on this shoe, please drop us a comment. If you haven’t already subscribed to our YouTube channel please do to get first in first served on all things running related.

Until next time, happy running and we’ll see you soon.